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Max Rockatansky
"I'm scared, Fif. It's that rat circus out there, I'm beginning to enjoy it. Look, any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, a terminal psychotic, except that I've got this bronze badge that says that I'm one of the good guys." ―Max "Mad" Max Rockatansky, sometimes referred to as The Road Warrior, is the protagonist from director George Miller's Mad Max trilogy, appearing in the films Mad Max, Mad Max: The Road Warrior, and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Max is portrayed by Mel Gibson. Biography Mad Max Max Rockatansky started his apocalyptic adventure as a Main Force Patrol officer who fought for peace on the decaying roads of Australian civilization. Max served as the last line of defense against the reckless mauraders terrorizing the roadways, driving a V8 Interceptor. With the world about to crumble, Max speaks little and pays little awareness to his ever growing reputation as the cop that successfully puts away the gangs due to his outstanding, and increasingly ruthless, driving skills. In fact, we're introduced to Max as he joins the pursuit of the man calling himself "Nightrider", the self-proclaimed "fuel-injected suicide machine." In order to stop Nightrider's rampage Max rams the man's car at top speed, sending it wheeling out of control, unto total destruction. Max, as a symbol of civilization, was a very emotional figure whose range soared as high as laughter and comedy with friends and family, right down to fear and depression when he began to realize he seemed to be becoming no better than the gangs on the roads. It is through the character of Max Rockatansky that we see illustrated the overall theme of the film series in the Darwinian concept of "survival of the fittest." Resigning from the Force Patrol, Max left with his wife Jessie and infant son for a life of solitude in the quiet countryside. The gang, lead by Toecutter, stalked the Rockatanskies. Ruthlessly, they ran down and murdered both his son and wife, turning Max into a bitter being full of hatred and anger. With his lighter emotions vanquished, Max embraced his darker side -- dug out his MFP leathers and comandeered a souped-up, black Interceptor -- and carried out the bloody revenge killings of those responsible for his family's deaths. A shell of a man, Max then left civilization forever, driving off into the desolate wasteland, never to return. The Road Warrior Approximately five years later, Max was surviving in solitude with the sole aid of a dog he picked up along the way, having not returned to any major city. His Pursuit Special became his home, and Max scavenged the wastes of the Outback '''for water, oil, and petrol (gas) daily. One day Max happened upon a mysterious-looking craft sitting desolate alongside the road. As Max investigated the lonely gyro, presumably for petrol and anything useful, he was surprised to be ambushed from below as the Gyro Captain, portrayed by Bruce Spence, emerged from the ground. The decoy-ploy worked momentarily as it seemed Gyro had outwitted Max and was about to steal his car and belongings. That is until Max's pet "Dog" jumped Gyro, giving Max the advantage. In order to preserve his life Gyro told Max that he knew of a place where he could get all the petrol he wanted, explaining that there was a little compound refining it straight from the ground. Gyro lead him to the wasteland plains where Max discovered the besieged group of settlers and life changed drastically again for him. With a fortress constructed out of an old oil refinery, these civilized people were being harassed constantly by a tribe of heavy metal barbarians, lead by Lord Humungus, trying to steal their oil for their own. Abiding by the major themes of good and evil, and light and dark, the compound dwellers are garbed in white and light gray while the post-apocalyptic horde is predominantly black. As Max and Gyro stake out the compound, they witness several vehicles leave the compound in an effort to escape the horde of Humungus. All of the vehicles are destroyed quickly and abruptly. Max and Gyro witness the occupants of one vehicle beaten, the woman raped, and the man shot with steel arrows. As an opportunist, that all humans have seemingly become, Max seizes upon this event in order to gain trust, entry, and perhaps fuel from the occupants of the refinery by rescuing the refugees. Unfortunately, Max is able to rescue only one, the man, Nathan, who was shot with arrows. Max and Nathan make a deal that if Max saves his life and returns him to the refinery Max can fuel up and get supplies. However, upon delivering the refugee to the compound the man dies before the pact could be conveyed to their leader Pappagallo. Having no bargain, the compound dwellers, suspicious of Max, treat him as a spy, an enemy, and handcuff him to some piping. While there Max witnesses a confrontation between Humungus and the compound dwellers, wherein Humungus attempts to reason and bargain with them, telling them that if they walk away from the refinery no one will be killed. Of course, Pappagallo doesn't believe these words, but there is internal strife among them with some wanting to take Humungus up on his offer. Again, seeing an opportunity Max tells the compound dwellers, "Two days ago I saw a vehicle that could haul that tanker. If you wanna get out of here you talk to me." Thus Max makes a bargain to go for the tanker in exchange for all the fuel he could carry and some supplies. Max treks across the wild outback, occupied by the barbarians, under cover of darkness. Eventually he gets to the tanker and drives it back to the compound. However, Wez, and a few of his cohorts, attack the tanker and infiltrate the compound. The refinery dwellers, lead by Pappagallo and the Warrior Woman, fight back, repelling Wez and his fellow barbarians. Pappagallo is injured during the skirmish. Max, having fulfilled his part of the bargain, stocks up his interceptor with the full intention of leaving. Pappagallo attempts to convince Max to stay and drive the tanker for them, to get back some of his lost humanity, but Max refuses. Instead he screams off into the wasteland in an attempt to escape the barbarian horde and put this episode long behind him. Wez doesn't allow it though. He and the gang chase Max down and attack him, causing him to wreck at high speed, nearly killing him. His pursuit special is totalled and explodes into a ball of fire thanks to the little bomb Max had booby-trapped to the tank. Fortunately, Max had a guardian angel of sorts as Jedediah, the gyro captain, spotted a smoke tendril on the horizon. He checked it out and found Max wrecked and injured. Jedediah piloted Max back to the compound where the dwellers patched him up. At this point with nothing in the world left at all of his ability to survive on his own Max agrees, insists, on driving the tanker. A broken man once more, Max left them behind as they headed one way and him the other. Beyond Thunderdome Thirteen years had passed and the desolate wasteland had changed Max almost completely. His hair long, clothes torn and leathers battered, Max ends up wandering to '''Bartertown, the first civilisation he'd seen since Jessie and Sprog were killed. Eventually getting into trouble, Max had to battle his way through Thunderdome, a bloodsport created to settle differences between individuals. Max showed a brief glimmer of humanity when he refused to end the life of Blaster, a gladiator unsure of the bloodsport he's engaging in, for he suffered from Down's Syndrome. As punishment, Max ends up being outcast into the desert for his decision. It is here that Max is saved by a tribal settlement of children who believed him to be their legendary figure - Captain Walker. The good nature we see before in Bartertown turns to a sour anger when Max painfully crushed their dreams, explaining that he wasn't and that their Tomorrow-Morrow-Land they talk about one day travelling to, is nothing but a figment of their imaginations and instead tells them of the dystopian state of the world. It's when some of the children decide to leave regardless for Tomorrow-Morrow-Land across the desert that Max snapped to his senses and set out to save them from their own peril. Eventually saving them, and befriending and freeing some inhabitants of Bartertown nearby - Max completed his full circle as there wasn't a shred of disappointment for Max as he saves farewell this time. Humanity restored, Max once more leaves for the wasteland, never to be seen again - only to be passed down in legend by the children and the inhabitants of the refinery he saved years before. Max's Age Although disputed amoungst the fan community and even George Miller himself, canon follows what Miller has said in interviews. Mad Max - About 23 years old (based on Mel Gibson's age at the time). Mad Max: Road Warrior - This occured five years after the events of Mad Max, placing Max's age at about 28 years old. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome - This takes place thirteen years after Road Warrior making Max about 41 years old. Appearance One of the most iconic cult classic characters and one that sports outfits and clothes recognisable by so many, the character of Mad Max changes drastically over the years. The once emaculate MFP uniform he wore throughout the first film consists of fine, tough leather with armoured plates attached to much of the outfit. As the years progress so does the wear on the uniform. It becomes dusty and ripped in places and is missing the right sleeve where Max supposedly cut it off to help bandage the broken arm given to him, along with a shattered knee, at the end of the first film. A metal leg-brace that helps Max walk from the leg injury is seen in the second film. This brace was actually constructed of tail-gate hinges from a pickup truck, with an attached kneepad and leather straps. Eventually, Max's hair grows wild and the jacket shows evidence of ever more usage. He also adorns a robe and cloak to shield himself from the desert sands. Equipment During the first two films, Max makes use of a V8 Pursuit Special: '''a limited GT351 version of a 1973 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop, though he drives a different vehicle (an MFP Interceptor) earlier in the first film. In the third movie, after the destruction of the Pursuit Special, Max acquires a caravan resembling an Armoured Personnel Carrier, which he later loses. Max is armed with a revolver (which he never uses, or even draws) during his time with the Main Force Patrol, though once Jessie and Sprog are killed, he favours a '''sawed-off shotgun. The shotgun is his weapon of choice (though he gains several more during the course of his time in the wasteland) until it is confiscated upon his arrival in Bartertown. A different model of shotgun appears in each of the three movies, however they all seem to be old-fashioned (pre-1950) break-action hammerless (boxlock action) sawed-off shotguns. In the second film he is also armed with a Viet Nam-era Gerber combat knife, which he pulls several times, once on the Gyro Captain. In the third film, he is shown to have a plethora of weapons hidden on his person, including his shotgun, a Mauser C96, several other pistols, a crossbow, and a collection of knives, all of which are confiscated. Abilities Without any doubt, Max's natural skill is driving. He was once considered the "top pursuit man" in the MFP. These abilities later lend themselves to driving offroad, evading gangs and wreckages easily and outdriving or ramming them off the road. Max even drives a large truck despite being severely injured. Max's reflexes are lightning quick by the second film as he manages to capture a snake before it bites him. In the third film, Auntie Entity chose him to kill Master Blaster due to being the only one surviving her "audition". Mechanic skills enable Max to perform minor repairs on his vehicles, and even to rig one to explode - like his Pursuit Special. It is worth noting that a number of "Hero rules" don't apply to Max. Gunshot trauma to his left leg during the events of Mad Max is still apparent in Mad Max 2, as he walks with a slight limp and wears a leg brace, and still even wears a bandage on the knee in Mad Max 3. He has also had multiple near-death experiences almost all of which occur due to car crashes. Director George Miller had been a medical doctor prior to a film-maker, many of the injuries shown in the films are based on car-crash trauma he had treated in real life. Reception Entertainment Weekly ranked the character eleventh on its list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine also listed the characters portrayed by Kevin Costner in Waterworld and The Postman as "copycat descendants" of Max Rockatansky."The Top 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture," Entertainment Weekly 1041 (April 3, 2009). References External Links Mad Max on imdb Category:Characters